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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508724">I Don't Think We're in the Closet Anymore</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasus143/pseuds/Pegasus143'>Pegasus143</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DBH Rarepairs Week [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Deltarune Fusion, Alternate Universe - Human, Arranged Marriage, Autistic Josh (Detroit: Become Human), Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Lovers, Other, Prophecy, Self-Harm, Transfeminine Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Transphobia, dbhrarepairsweek, nonbinary characters - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:46:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,465</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508724</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasus143/pseuds/Pegasus143</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All they were supposed to do was go to the supply closet for some chalk. A few days, a couple prophecies, and some magic later, they never wanted to leave.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Josh/Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Leo Manfred/North</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DBH Rarepairs Week [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1484246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I Don't Think We're in the Closet Anymore</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was written for DBH Rarepairs Week 3, Day 7: Free Day, though it was originally meant for one of the days during week 2, which was Crossover/Unexpected Rescue. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time then, and this fic completely ran away from me in terms of both the concept and word count. I'm lucky I was able to finish it for this prompt.</p>
<p>A quick note about the transphobia in this: it does include the deadnaming of a couple of the characters. I'm nonbinary myself and get dysphoria surrounding this, but that's just the way it worked out in this fic.</p>
<p>I listened to the song "Water" by Pentatonix while writing this. It's perfect for the fic, so go take a listen if you're not familiar with it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A nightmare.
It is full of nothing, only a voice breaking through the void.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Are you there?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Are we connected?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Excellent.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Truly… excellent.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Now.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>We may begin.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>First.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>You must create a vessel.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Select the head that you prefer.</strong>
</p>
<p>Shoulder-length hair with bangs, a little wavy. Pretty.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Select the body that you prefer.</strong>
</p>
<p>A sweatshirt, baggy enough that it might create the illusion of something while also covering the scars.</p>
<p>
  <strong>This is your vessel.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Do you accept it?</strong>
</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>Now.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Let us shape its mind as your own.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>What is its favorite flavor?</strong>
</p>
<p>“Sweet.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>What color does it like most?</strong>
</p>
<p>“Cyan.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>Please give it a gift.</strong>
</p>
<p>“Voice.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>How do you feel about your creation? (It will not hear.)</strong>
</p>
<p>“Hope.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>Have you answered honestly?</strong>
</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>You acknowledge the possibility of pain and seizure.</strong>
</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>Understood.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Name your vessel.</strong>
</p>
<p>“Serenity.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>We called it “Serenity.”</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Excellent.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Truly excellent.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Thank you for your time</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Your answers</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Your wonderful creation</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Will now be discarded.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>No one can choose who they are in this world.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Your name is…</strong>
</p>
<p>“Simon!”</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Simon, if you do not wake up, we will be late for school,” Caroline said, whisking open the curtains and letting a flood of light into the room. It all landed on Daniel’s half, of course. The shelves of trophies. The empty drawers. The brand-new controller for the console that wasn’t even plugged in anymore. <br/>She sighed. “I will wait outside for you, alright? Just… try not to take too long.”<br/>Serenity only got out of bed once her mom had left, closing the door behind her. She pulled on her usual green striped, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. Then she looked out the window. <em>It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming… it’s a beautiful day… to be burning in Hell.</em><br/>She turned back to the room. Deep shadows fell into one corner, onto the red wagon her and Daniel had crashed too many times. Onto the rusted birdcage inside of it, the one Caroline tried to make her get rid of, but needed to hold her SOUL. Onto the knock-off game controller.<br/>Leaving the room, her eyes fell onto the large potted cactus in the hall. There wasn’t much to say about it, really – Caroline brought it home one day. Dad hadn’t liked it. It wasn’t even a flowering cactus, just a bunch of needles poking out of a blob of blobiness. There wasn’t much to say about it – just an average day in the Phillips household.<br/>Next was the bookshelf. She steered clear of it, having read exactly one book: <em>Religion in the 21st Century</em>. She swore off reading after that.<br/>There was an end table, with a mirror above it. In one of the drawers was a box of crayons and some paper. There wasn’t a green crayon. Serenity accidentally caught her reflection in the mirror, reminding herself of the nightmare. <em>It’s only you.</em><br/>Finally, the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste off a shelf, next to an aerosol can reading “Ice-E’s Cool Boys Body Spray ‘Spray For The Boys,’ Flamin’ Hot Pizza Scent.” It was almost entirely full.<br/>Next stop, kitchen. Serenity stopped in front of the refrigerator, an old photo of her, Caroline, and Daniel at a church picnic held on with a magnet. She glanced at the clock. Not enough time for breakfast. She scraped some of cinnamony batter off the stovetop with her fingernail. That would have to do. She ignored the batter on the cookie-cutter boys and girls.<br/>A pleasant floral scent reached her nose as she passed the garbage can on her way to the living room. “Chairoline”, the beloved living room chair, sat stately next to the unplugged TV. There was another armchair next to it, but “Chairon” just didn’t ring as well. The couch didn’t have a name, since it had always been shared by two people. Until a few months ago. Or maybe it had all started before then.<br/>Outside, Caroline was waiting next to the family minivan. “Simon! There you are! We might still be able to make it!” <br/>She got in the backseat, Caroline’s oversized bag of teaching materials occupying the passenger seat.<br/>“Simon…” Caroline said as she started the vehicle. “It is a beautiful day today, is it not? I hope it stays this way when Daniel visits next week. But I wonder… after the excitement of university… will he still enjoy coming home to this little town?”<br/>A twinge of pain filled her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the mention of Daniel, or just the usual sort of ache from her deadname. She wished she could make it go away, but now she had school to deal with.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“Connor, please, can’t we have a group of three?” Serenity begged. Everyone already had a partner except her and North, who hadn’t arrived yet.<br/>“Ms. Stern said partners. Not groups of three,” Connor said stubbornly. Serenity didn’t know why she bothered trying to argue anymore. She hated how Connor always followed the rules to a t, hated how the sound of her own voice grated against her ears.<br/>Right on time, meaning late, the classroom door opened, banging against the wall. North walked inside. “Am I late?”<br/>Ms. Stern glared at her in response. “We’re assigning partners for the next group project. You’re with Simon.”<br/>“Great,” North replied sarcastically. <br/>Ms. Stern turned her back to the class, her hand hesitating above the empty ledge under the chalkboard. “Has anyone seen the chalk? This is the <em>third time</em> it’s gone missing this week, and it’s only Tuesday.”<br/>Serenity shook her head along with the rest of the class, absolutely terrified.<br/>“If no one speaks up, you’re all getting lunch detention.”<br/>Everyone remained silent.<br/>“Traci, since you’re late, you can get a new box from the supply closet.” North immediately left the room, slamming the door again on her way out. “Simon, go with her. Make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.”<br/>In the hallway, North was drawing a picture of an incredibly bloody eagle on the brick wall – in chalk. A clear parody of the eagle stickers on Daniel’s old locker that he’d never gotten in trouble for in the name of “school spirit”.<br/>“You didn’t see anything, <em>right</em>?” North asked.<br/>Serenity’s mouth was frozen.<br/>“… You can’t even say.” She walked up to Serenity, backing her up against her brother’s old locker, out of view of the classroom window. “Quiet people piss me off. You think just ‘cause you aren’t saying anything, I can’t tell <em>exactly</em> what you’re thinking? ‘It’s over! I caught North in the act of vandalism! This was her <em>last</em> chance! Now she’ll <em>finally</em> be expelled, and I’ll be in everyone’s good graces!’”<br/>She hadn’t considered that telling anyone might help her. She didn’t think it would do anything. Not that it was worth trying anyway – she always froze up like this.<br/>“Come on, Simon. Don’t act so shocked. Everyone’s waiting for it. Everyone wants it. So, congrats, Simon. You got me. I’m done for.”<br/>She honestly didn’t care whether or not North was around, as long as she wasn’t threatening her like she was currently doing.<br/>“Just, lemme say one little thing first. Seems like it would be a waste to get expelled for one little drawing.”<br/>It had been more than one.<br/>“So, Simon, if I <em>know</em> you’re gonna pull the trigger… Why don’t I get expelled for some <em>real</em> carnage?”<br/>She’d heard the rumors that North would kill you. She’d never planned on finding out if they were true.<br/>“So, Simon, how do feel… about <em>losing your face.</em>” She made a fist and pulled it back.<br/>Serenity closed her eyes tightly. Honestly, she didn’t care that much. It would be painful, but she had experience making pain go away. It was easier when you walked around without your SOUL, just an empty vessel drifting through the world, feeling absolutely nothing.<br/>“Naw.” <br/>Serenity opened her eyes. North looked almost disappointed. Just like everyone else.<br/>“Simon. You’ve got a good mother. It’d be a shame to make her bury her child.” <br/><em>Looks like the rumors are true, then.</em> She tried not to think about how everyone thought her mother was a good person.<br/>“Alright, let’s get this over with. We’ll get more chalk, mosey back to class. And then, Simon, <em>you’re</em> going to do our project. How does that sound?” <br/>She didn’t even get to open her mouth. <br/>“Don’t bother answering. If you haven’t gotten it by now… your choices don’t matter. Nobody’s do.” <br/>She started walking down the hall, leaving Serenity to ponder if that really happened. She followed at a distance, stopping when she noticed a new poster on one of the bulletin boards. <em>The Sadie Hawkman’s dance… not worth going. There’s no point. I’ve heard all about it from everyone else in this town. Everyone will be disappointed in me again.</em><br/>A couple turns later, they stood in front of a foreboding set of doors. “Well, here’s the closet. Too bad. We were just starting to have fun.” North opened the doors, and Serenity followed her inside. “Hey, Simon, is it just me or is it really dark in here? Can you look for a light switch or something?”<br/>She felt along the wall, only removing her hand when a shelf got in the way. Then… she couldn’t find it again.<br/>“Uh, this seems kind of big for a closet… you would’ve thought we would’ve reached the end by now.” A hint of fear tainted North’s words.<br/>Serenity continued walking, unable to see anything. Eventually, she bumped into North.<br/>“Well, we’ve worked hard enough. If Ms. Stern wants chalk so bad, she can get it herself. Let’s split.”<br/>They turned around and started walking towards the doors, which slammed shut. Serenity didn’t think it could’ve gotten any darker.<br/>North started pounding on the doors. “Hey, this isn’t funny! Let us out! LET US OUT!”<br/>Then the floor started trembling. Soon, they were falling through darkness.</p>
<hr/>
<p>When Serenity opened her eyes, she was lying on a patch of rocky ground. Surprisingly, nothing hurt. The clanks as she stood up explained why. Her usual clothing had been replaced with armor, and a cape bearing an unfamiliar symbol was fastened around her shoulders. She brushed the dirt off her glimmering armor, and brushed her hair out of her face and onto her back. <em>Wait… what? What happened, that I look different? Where am I? Am I in that nightmare again?</em> It was dark all around her, except for the rocky ground, which was looking more like a path. <br/>She began to walk forward, once in a while feeling like she was being watched by someone she couldn’t see. Then the noises started. She walked a little faster. Off to the side of the path, she saw something glowing in a hole dripping some sort of black liquid. Reaching in, she pulled out… a glowing shard. <em>A glowshard.</em> It offered a little more light, so she carried it with her.<br/>The shard illuminated the walls around her, revealing drawings etched into the rock. There were lots of eyes. Two castles. Some sort of… tower? Pillar? She wasn’t sure. Suddenly, a figure darted in front of her.<br/>“H-hey! B…back off! Come any closer and I’ll… oh, good, it’s you.”<br/>It was North. The sweatshirt she’d been wearing earlier had been replaced with a leather vest, a tight-fitting sleeveless shirt and leggings underneath it. She wore spiked bracelets on both her wrists, matching the spikes on her boots. Serenity was surprised at how toned her body was. The whole look made her seem more androgynous.<br/>“Hey, don’t scare me like that next time, dumbass. Unless you <em>want</em> to get clocked in the face. Anyway, enough screwing around. We gotta find a way out of here.”<br/>Serenity held the shard in front of her, but all she could see was more rocky tunnel. She had no idea where “here” even was.<br/>“You know what, you got us into this mess. You get us out of it. Figure out how to get us out of here.”<br/>They continued walking through the tunnel until it suddenly turned downwards, in what looked like a well-worn slide. She slid down, dirt flying up around her. Shortly after reaching the bottom, North bumped into her.<br/>“Well? Let’s keep going!”<br/>Serenity held up the glowshard, revealing a village in front of them. Buildings lined both sides of the path, and at the end of it was a castle, a dark geyser emitting from it. They continued down the path, Serenity trying the doors of the buildings as they passed. A shop, an inn, a blacksmith, a house. All locked. Running out of options, they climbed the steps to the castle doors.<br/>“What’s a castle doing in a supply closet?” North asked, looking up at it. <br/><em>I don’t think we’re in the closet anymore.</em><br/>“Welcome, heroes!” A voice said.<br/>They both jumped. “Who’s there?!” <br/>“Do not be alarmed… I am not your enemy. Please, come forward, both of you.”<br/>A cloaked figure waited in the now-open doorway. “Welcome. I am the Prince of this kingdom… the Kingdom of Shadows. Serenity, North… there is a legend in this land. A legend that one day, two heroes of the sun will arrive, assisting me in fulfilling the ancient prophecy, foretold by time and space. Please, heroes… listen to my tale.”<br/>North appeared to be too frightened to say anything, so Serenity spoke instead. “We’re listening.” Her eyes widened at the sound of her voice. It still had the slightest touch of a British accent, but at a higher pitch. And this person had called her Serenity… oh God, this really was a dream.<br/>“Very well then…” the figure in front of them said. “Once upon a time, a legend was whispered among shadows. It was a legend of hope. It was a legend of dreams. It was a legend of sun. It was a legend of shadow. This is the legend of Delta Rune.” The prince gestured towards the image on Serenity’s cape. “For millennia, sun and shadow have lived in balance, bringing peace to the world. But if this harmony were to shatter… a terrible calamity would occur.”<br/>“What’s a… calamity?” Serenity asked, still not used to how her voice sounded in this place.<br/>“A disaster,” the prince answered before continuing. “The sun will run dark with terror, and the shadows will crack with fear. Then, with her heart pounding… the Earth will draw her final breath. Only then, shining with hope, three heroes appear at worlds’ edge: a knight, a warrior, and a prince from the shadows. Only they can seal the fountain, restoring harmony to the world. And the world will be saved from destruction.”<br/>“Today, the Fountain of Shadow – the geyser that gives this land form – stands tall at the center of the kingdom.” The prince pointed to the geyser above them. Then he turned to look at a second fountain that could be seen between the buildings of the village. “But recently, another fountain has appeared on the horizon… and with it, the balance of sun and shadow begins to shift. Serenity, North… thank you for listening to my tale. I know it was long, but I’ve been practicing for a long time. And I deeply believe you two are the heroes from the legend. I believe that whatever enemies you may face, the two of you have the courage to help me save the world. Delta Warriors! Please, won’t you accept your destiny?”<br/>This time, North looked absolutely terrified. <em>Serves her right.</em> “Uhh…” she started. “…No.”<br/>“W-what?!” Clearly, the prince had not been expecting this.<br/>“Me? Some kind of hero or something? You’ve got the wrong person.”<br/>“B-but North, without you, the… the world will…” The prince’s image of wiseness and composure quickly disappeared. <br/>“So what? If the world is supposed to get destroyed, it’ll happen anyways, no matter what we do. That’s what happens. Our choices… they mean nothing.” She sounded almost tearful. The way she rubbed her eyes confirmed it. “Anyway, Si- Serenity…“ <br/>“Yes?” She couldn’t help but smile, hearing her real name out loud.<br/>“<em>I’m</em> going to find a way out of here. Feel free to play pretend with this weirdo, if you want.”<br/>“North… wait!” The prince shouted.<br/>The sound of a motorcycle engine and the squeal of tires interrupted them. Once the motorcycle reached the bottom of the steps, the rider cut off the engine and took off their helmet. “So the heroes are running away already… looks like my job’s done here. My dad might actually make me son of the month.”<br/>“Who the hell are <em>you?!</em>” North asked.<br/>“’Course you don’t know who I am. <em>I’m</em> Prince Leo. You clowns want to steal our dark fountain, huh? And – still picturing you as clowns – save the world, huh?”<br/>“Eh,” North started.<br/>Prince Leo cut her off. “Don’t try to deny it. We all know you’ll go east – it’s your only way home. But I’ve set up a few traps to make sure <em>you</em> won’t get there.”<br/>“Hm. Nice plan, kid,” North said with a smirk. <br/>“Wait – really?!”<br/>“Yeah, actually… we’ve got smarty-pants prince here, so we’ll be just fine.”<br/>“Shoot… better go change the trap difficulty, then.” Prince Leo put his helmet back on, started the engine, and drove off.<br/>“Okay, can you give us a name or something? Having two princes around here is a little confusing.”<br/>The prince sighed. “Yeah. Um, allow me to introduce myself more properly. I am—“<br/>“And can you take off that hood? I can barely hear you under there.”<br/>“Um, alright.” He unfastened the buttons on his cloak and slipped it off. He wore a deep purple tunic and trousers that went nicely with the forest green of his cloak. “I’m Prince Josh. As I was saying before we were interrupted—“ He glared at the lingering smoke from Prince Leo’s motorcycle. “—Delta Warriors, will you accept your destiny?”<br/>“Wait, I’ve got a question,” North interrupted again. “That Prince Leo guy said we’d have to go east to get home, and to close the fountain. Is that right?”<br/>“Yes.”<br/>“I’m in, then.”<br/>“Um, okay. Serenity?”<br/>“I accept my destiny.”<br/>Prince Josh relaxed a little. “Then let’s go.” He led them back down the path through the village.<br/>“Another question,” North said. “Where is everyone? We checked the buildings, but they were all locked.”<br/>“I know I’m supposed to be a prince, but as long as I’ve been alive, I haven’t had any subjects. I’ve spent my life studying alone, waiting for the two of you to arrive. I hope we can become good friends.”<br/>“I know how it feels – to be lonely, not alone. But I hope we can become friends, too,” Serenity said.<br/>“Okay, can we hurry up?” North asked. <br/>“We don’t know how long we’ll be able to walk at this leisurely pace before we’re running for our lives. We should choose to make the most of it,” Prince Josh said.<br/>North sighed. “Serenity?”<br/>“I think Josh is right. I don’t want to Ms. Stern to yell at me just as much as you don’t, but I don’t think she’s worth dying for.”<br/>Prince Josh led them on a path Serenity hadn’t noticed earlier. They ended up in a fenced-in field, with various weapons and a stuffed dummy.<br/>“Oh, look! It’s the training dummy I made!” Prince Josh exclaimed. “Now seems like a great time to prepare for the enemy.”<br/>“Is that an axe?!” North ran up to the weapon and swung it in the air. “Wow… I can actually lift it!”<br/>“You can have it, if you want,” Prince Josh said. “Serenity, I think these would be good for you.” He held out a sword and shield.<br/>“Thanks. What do you use?”<br/>“I have some magic spells that can put enemies to sleep and help us heal. I only collected these so the two of you could defend yourselves, since people of the sun realm can’t use magic.”<br/>“I think I’ve got the hang of this. Now we can kick some ass,” North said.<br/>“I don’t think using violence is a good idea. Everyone has a SOUL… the culmination of their will, their compassion, and the fate of the world… it wouldn’t be right to destroy that. But I don’t want to leave either of you defenseless, and my spells are only powerful enough to put an enemy to sleep when they’re already in a weakened state.”<br/>It was then that Serenity realized she hadn’t locked her SOUL up in the birdcage as she normally did each morning, to keep it from getting hurt by the world.<br/>“So, we’re your bodyguards, but we can’t kill anyone. Sounds a little unfair to me,” North complained.<br/>“It’s possible that we might not need to use spells <em>or</em> violence, if an enemy will respond to kindness,” Prince Josh explained.<br/><em>We might still have to do harm. We might get hurt.</em> This was a bigger threat than North’s bare fist. Serenity wrapped Prince Josh in a hug.<br/>“Uh, Serenity? What are you doing?”<br/>“Sorry.” She could feel herself blushing.<br/>“No, I like it, but I think we have to get going.” The prince smiled at her in a way that made her SOUL want to leap out of her chest. She gave a little gasp, the sensation being unfamiliar. “Are you okay?” he asked, that smile disappearing in his concern.<br/>She nodded. “We should get going.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>It wasn’t long before the three heroes arrived in a forest of tall trees with black bark and bright pink leaves. Serenity stared up at the branches, not quite believing what she was seeing. <em>This could all be a dream… you shouldn’t get too attached…</em><br/>“Wow,” the prince breathed, causing Serenity’s SOUL to flutter again. “I’ve waited so long to see this, outside of a book.”<br/>“Stop gawking, slow-pokes,” North said, rolling her eyes.<br/>Serenity ignored her. “Why didn’t you come and see it sooner?”<br/>“I wanted to, but there was so much to learn. Sometimes I’d get distracted in the library and spend hours going through books of spells. Of course, there were other things, too, like history and mathematics, but I always connected them back to the spells in some way. That was the only way I could concentrate.”<br/>“So do you know other spells, besides sleep and healing?” Usually she didn’t ask questions, but with Prince Josh she felt more… comfortable, in a way that she didn’t think was solely due to being recognized as herself.<br/>“Yes. There’s a couple others I have memorized that I use regularly, but I also know many more that I don’t use as often, since there’s no need. They wouldn’t be useful in enemy encounters, though.”<br/>“Could you show me one?”<br/>Prince Josh shook his head. “I only have so much TP each day, and it gets used up when I cast spells. We’d have to stop and rest in order to replenish it. If I don’t, my magic will start draining my SOUL instead, and then… things start to disappear. You know.”<br/>Serenity was surprised to find that she did know. When she was so anxious that she couldn’t speak… wasn’t that part of her disappearing? “What does TP stand for?”<br/>“I’m… not actually sure. The instruction manual didn’t say.”<br/>Their conversation came to a close as they approached a locked gate. North, who must’ve ran ahead, was shaking the bars, but they didn’t budge.<br/>“North, what are you doing?” Prince Josh asked.<br/>“It… won’t… BUDGE!” she shouted.<br/>Serenity looked around and noticed a sign taped to the wall next to the gate. It read,<br/><em>Whatever you do, DON’T push the button under this sign. Signed, Leo</em><br/>Serenity carefully peeled back the sign, revealing a button underneath. She pressed it, causing a clock on the wall that she hadn’t noticed to start ticking. She turned around and noticed a button had risen up out of the ground. Moving quickly, she stepped on it, causing it to lower while two other buttons emerged. “Josh!”<br/>“What?” he asked, turning around. “Oh!” He ran over to the other button, which then caused three more buttons to take the place of the two. “North!” he shouted.<br/>“Quiet, I think there’s someone on the other side of here…” North said dismissively.<br/>“And we might have a way to unlock the gate,” Serenity explained.<br/>With a huff, North stepped on the third button. Groups of buttons began appearing in threes from then on. It was sort of a dance, and made Serenity forget all about the ticking clock, until it stopped. No more buttons emerged, and a distinct clank came from the direction of the gate.<br/>“It’s open!” North pushed the gate open wide, allowing the three of them to continue.<br/>A figure emerged out of the shadows.<br/>“Prince Leo?” Serenity asked. “What are you doing here?”<br/>“I have to manually operate my puzzles,” he explained, shuffling his feet in embarrassment. “I’m… not as good as my brother at designing them. I’m… not really good at building things,” He explained, gesturing to his motorcycle, which was sitting on the side of the path with smoke curling out of it. His pale blue tunic was stained with motor oil, and his hands looked greasy. “My brother is way better and more creative at this than I am – but don’t tell him I said that!”<br/>“Why did you try to trap us?” Prince Josh asked while keeping a wary eye on North, whose hand rested on the handle of her axe. <br/>“There was a prophecy that, on the eve of my father’s death, a fountain would emerge from our family’s castle. This will be a signal to three heroes: a knight, a warrior, and a prince from the shadows. Whoever can seal the fountain, giving balance to the two realms, will become the spouse of the Chosen Son, and my father will be able to die in peace, knowing his kingdom is secure.”<br/>“But the prophecy only mentions one son, and you said you have a brother,” North interrupted. “So who’s the Chosen Son?”<br/>Prince Leo shrugged. “That’s the problem. Only one son is ever mentioned. I always took it to mean the son favored by the king, which would be my brother, since the two of them are both good at puzzle-making. But… I hoped that if I caught you guys first, and brought you to the castle, I would be a hero. Even if I didn’t get the crown, getting the approval from my dad would be worth it.”<br/>North’s hand clenched around the handle of her axe. “So the second fountain is just… a signal?”<br/>Prince Leo shook his head. “It’s a disaster, and also a way to block you guys from going back to the sun realm. Since we have two fountains now, the balance between sun and shadow is unstable. Even though hardly any time has passed since our fountain emerged, it’s been threatening the lives of our subjects. I don’t know how long it’ll take to rebuild, after this is over. The sooner one of you seals the fountain, the less damage there’ll be.”<br/>“Then take us there,” North said, letting go of her axe and letting her hand fall to her side.<br/>“Thank you.”</p>
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<p>As they walked, the forest changed. The colors were more muted in this part of the woods, the trees looking almost like their counterparts in the sun realm. It was here that Serenity fell into step next to Prince Leo.<br/>“I have a brother, too,” she began. “We did everything together when we were kids, but then things happened. Our parents divorced, and our dad died… and then we began to see the world, and our places in it, as they really were. He was the ‘chosen son’, in a way, and I wasn’t.”<br/>“Do you think I’m doing the right thing?” Prince Leo asked.<br/>“I don’t know. You listened to your SOUL when I tried to tear mine out, to get rid of it. Either way… I’m not sure that either of our choices really mattered. I guess… you’re keeping people safe, and you must know, somewhere, that it’s the right thing to do.”<br/>“Thanks. So, what’s up with you and Prince Josh?”<br/>Serenity blushed. “I mean, we just met today…”<br/>“So?”<br/><em>Is it common for people here to have relationships with people they just met?</em> “It’s not – I mean – we don’t do things like that in the sun realm.”<br/>“We’re almost at your castle,” Prince Josh interrupted. “And it looks like there’s guards at the gate.”<br/>“I’ll go talk to them,” Prince Leo said, moving to the front of the group.</p>
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<p>“I can’t believe they’re making us wait here,” Prince Leo ranted, pacing around the room, “Postponing this whole thing while people are out there, like – like dying or something!” He banged his fists on an end table, shaking the plants and decorations set upon it. “Josh… please tell me you can do something.”<br/>After a brief conversation with Prince Leo, Prince Josh had taken up a position by the window, focusing on what Serenity assumed was magic. It was fascinating to see, of course, but what he’d said about only having a certain amount of power to use before his magic began to drain his SOUL worried her.<br/>“I’m sorry. I don’t know a strong enough healing spell, or one that works over a long enough range.” He broke his concentration and collapsed onto a plush couch, reaching for his chest as his face contorted in pain. “I can’t do anything for them.”<br/>Watching to make sure he was okay with it, Serenity sat next to him.<br/>“I should’ve practiced more. Or rested more. Or memorized more spells. I should’ve focused my learning on what would help others, instead of things that would help myself…” He shook his head. “I’m going to take a rest. I’ll need it, if I’m supposed to attempt to close the fountain.” He got up from the couch and entered one of the bedrooms adjacent to the room they were waiting in, leaving Serenity by herself. North and Prince Leo were sitting on another couch together, seeming to get closer with every second that passed. Serenity looked away, feeling as though she were interrupting their moment, and tried to go back to her own thoughts.<br/><em>What did Josh mean? What kind of spells does he have that are meant to help himself?</em><br/>“Serenity?” Prince Leo’s voice broke her out of her thoughts.<br/>“Yes?” She asked, patting the couch cushion next to her. He sat down.<br/>“Do you remember when you were talking about your brother earlier? What happened with him?”<br/>She blinked back tears. “He – he left for university, eventually. It’s a common thing when one comes of age, in the sun realm. But before he left, he told me something, and made me promise not to tell anyone else. He didn’t plan on coming back to our little town, didn’t want all the big plans everyone else had made for him. He said he wanted the freedom to do what he wanted. But when he did that… he hurt me. He left me all alone, with no one I could turn to for help. I didn’t have a way to deal with my emotions – I didn’t have him to lean on anymore, and what seemed to work for everyone else in town didn’t work for me – so I started tearing out my SOUL for a moment of relief. I’d lock it in a cage for longer and longer periods of time, sometimes for a whole day. I felt like I was a vessel, like I didn’t deserve to have one. But now I’ll always be reminded of what I did. I was lucky that I had it with me today, when North and I came here.”<br/>Prince Leo didn’t meet her eyes. “I just hope one of you can seal the fountain… save the people… maybe Markus and I can be friends, without Dad around. I sure can’t do anything else, like magic or puzzles…” He laughed dryly.<br/>A butler entered the room. “King Carl and Prince Markus will see you now.”</p>
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<p>Their choices mattered more than they thought.<br/>“To seal the fountain, one must have a strong SOUL,” King Carl explained.<br/>Prince Josh looked towards Serenity, North, and Prince Leo, shaking his head. He must have overexerted himself, and a damaged SOUL took much longer to heal than a short nap. Serenity’s own SOUL was so damaged from going in and out of its vessel that she wouldn’t be able to, either.<br/>“North, you have to do this,” Prince Leo said. “Do it for the people down there. My brother – he isn’t that bad. He’s not bad at all. He’s smart, and talented. He’s the only one who can take care of the kingdom. You can do this.”<br/>Serenity swore she could see tears in North’s eyes as she tore them away from Leo. Approaching the fountain, she raised her axe, the weapon almost glowing with the power of her SOUL. She swung it at the fountain, making the world turn completely dark for a moment. The light slowly returned, revealing her standing there, breathing heavily. The geyser had collapsed; the fountain was sealed.<br/>“North, you’ve done it,” King Carl said. “Markus, may I present to you—“<br/>“Wait.” All eyes fell on Prince Markus, who had remained silent throughout the proceedings. “I’m not the Chosen Son.”<br/>“Markus, what are you—“ The king began.<br/>“Listen to me, because you haven’t every other time I’ve tried to tell you!” Markus shouted. “I’m not the Chosen Son, because I’m not your son. There’s a reason why the prophecy only speaks of one son, and that son is Leo.”<br/>“Markus, what are you talking about? I held you the day you were born!”<br/>“I don’t mean that in the filial sense. What I mean is that I’m not a boy.”<br/>“So you’re my sister?” Prince Leo asked, since the king was apparently too shocked to say anything.<br/>“I don’t really feel like a girl, either? I don’t really know what I am.” Markus shrugged, looking lost.<br/>“You could be non-binary, like me,” North suggested. “It means that you’re not completely a boy or a girl all the time.” Serenity nodded. She wouldn’t completely call herself a girl.<br/>“That… that sounds perfect,” Markus said, giving a small smile. “Thank you.”<br/>“So since Markus isn’t a boy… that means <em>I’m</em> the Chosen Son, right?” Prince Leo asked, a hesitant smile on his face.<br/>“Yes, I suppose so,” King Carl said. “Since North has sealed the fountain, that means that she will become the spouse of Prince Leo.”<br/>The two only held hands in front of everyone else, but it was obvious by their smiles and the way they kept looking at each other that they were very happy with this arrangement.</p>
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<p>The next couple days were spent having a funeral and assisting the subjects of the throne who almost lost their lives due to the fountain. Prince Josh tried to help where he could, until Serenity told him to go take a rest after it became obvious that his greatest strength was in his spells. Many of the subjects took up residence in the empty buildings surrounding Prince Josh’s castle, so Serenity and Prince Leo helped them to make the journey and get settled in. For those who decided to stay, North and Markus helped with clean-up and repair in order to make their homes hospitable again.<br/>As the last subjects finished settling in to their new homes, Serenity found time to spend with Prince Josh. “Are you going to leave, once you’re done helping?” The prince asked.<br/>Serenity shook her head. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I don’t think there’s anything for me to go back for. In the sun realm, I was living because I had to; here, I’m living because I want to.”<br/>Prince Josh smiled. “In that case… maybe you’d like to see me do some successful magic?”<br/>“Have you recovered enough for that? You’ve still been spending a lot of time in bed.” She’d been visiting daily to bring him food and check up on him.<br/>“Actually… not all that was needed to recover. I have certain spells I usually cast on a regular basis that I had to stop using in order to recover as quickly as possible. Some of them help me to be more comfortable with certain things….” He gestured towards his torso area, Serenity quickly getting the message. “After so long of not dealing with them, it was too much, so I… locked myself away when I really needed someone, thinking that the rest of you were all too busy. I’m sorry.”<br/>“There’s nothing you need to apologize for. I wish you’d come to me, but I know that can be scary. I just wanted to stay in bed a lot of days back in the sun realm, and I still do sometimes. North and I both look a little different here than we did there, but most things didn’t change. And this is honestly the first time I’ve talked about this.”<br/>Josh smiled. “So does that mean Leo’s the only one of our friends who <em>isn’t</em> nonbinary?”<br/>Serenity laughed. “I guess so.”<br/>Josh joined in the laughter. “Okay, back to business.” He grabbed the bottom edge of his tunic, but hesitated. “No one’s ever seen me like this before.”<br/>“That’s okay. What do you need me to do so that you’ll feel more comfortable?”<br/>“Just… count to three.”<br/>“Okay. One, two, three!”<br/>Josh quickly slipped his tunic off, then did a series of hand movements. The magic made his chest look flatter almost immediately. “And that’s it. Nothing to it, once you’re brave enough. Once your SOUL is strong enough.”<br/>“That’s amazing,” Serenity said, in awe of the whole thing. “You don’t think there’s a chest growing spell somewhere, do you?”<br/>“Probably. Let’s head down to the library and—“<br/>“That was a joke.”<br/>He paused, thinking about it for a moment before laughing. “I didn’t realize. I’ve missed researching and learning new spells.”<br/>“I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe I’ll want that. I don’t know yet, I’ll have to think about it.”<br/>“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Josh said after a lull in the conversation. “Would you like to try being together, like Leo and North?”<br/>Serenity felt like her SOUL was going to fly out of her chest again. Maybe that was a sign it was getting stronger. “Yes. A thousand trips to the sun realm and back, yes.”</p>
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